Slow-down and sheet-straightener for feeding-machines.



T. E. BREEN & R: MEREDITH. SLOW DOWN AND SHEET STRAIGHTENER FOR FEEDING MACHINES. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 18. 1917.

1,289,628. Patented Dec. 31, 1918.

5 SHEETSSHEET l.

5] nve wto 5 T. E. BREEN & R. MEREDITH.

sLow DOWN AND SHEET STRAIGHTENER FOR FEEDING MACHINES.

APPLiCATlON FILED JAN. I8, 1917.

Patented Dec. 31, 1918 5 SHEETS-SHEEI 2.

T. E- BREEN & R. MEREDITH. SLOW DOWN AND SHEET STRAHGHTENER FOR FEEDING MACHINES.

APPUCAHON FILED JANA I8, I91]. 1,289,628. Patented Dec. 31, 1918.

5S EETS-S r3 T. E. BREEN & R MEREDITH.

1,289,628. Patented Dec. 31,1918.

. 5 SHEETSSHEET 4.

T. E. BREEN 15 R. MEREDITH.

SLOW DOWN AND SHEET STRAIGHTENER FOR FEEDING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN, I8. 1917.

1,289,628. Patented Dec. 31,1918.

5 SHEETS-SHEEE 5.

III

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS E. BREEN, 0F COLWYN, PENNSYLVANIA AND ROSS MEREDITH, OF SPRING VALLEY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNORS TO DEXTER FOLDER COMPANY, OF PEARL RIVER, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK. I

SLOW-DOWN AND SHEET-STRAIGHTENER FOR FEEDING-MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 31, 1918.

Application filed January 18, 1917. Serial No. 143,084.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, THOMAS E. BREEN and Ross MEREDITH, citizens of the United States, and residin at Colwyn, Pennsylvania, and Spring alley, New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Slow-Downs and Sheet-Straighteners for Feeding-Machines, of which the following is a full and clear specification.

This invention relates to a slow down and sheet straightener and has for its primary object to provide an improved device of this character which will positively determine the osition of the forward edge of a sheet whic is being acted upon thereby. One of the objects of the present invention is to provide an improved construction for increasing the accuracy and general eiiiciency of the sheet-registerin movement; Other and furtherobjects wil appear in the specification and be pointed out in the appended claims, reference vbein had to the accompanying drawings which exemplify our invention in the preferred embodiment;

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a schematic top plan view of a machine embodying our improvements;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation On an enlarged scale of one of the slow down and sheet straightener devices, parts being broken away and parts shown in section 5 Fig. 4 is-a similar side elevation showing the parts in changed position; a

Fig. 5 is a to plan view of the same on an enlarged sca c;

Fig. 6 is an end elevation of the same, parts being broken away and parts shown in section' Fig. 7 isa detail in elevation of one of the slides removed;

Fig. 8 isa vertical section through slides 34 and 35, parts being broken away and parts shown in elevation;

Fig. 9 is a side elevation-of the track bar, partly broken away at one end.

According to theembodiment shown on the drawings, the main frame 1 of an automatic feedin machine carries the brackets 2 for journal ing the main cam shaft 3. A cam 4 on shaft 3 serves to operate upon a roller 5journa1ed on one'end of a cam lever 6 whichis pivoted on a stud 7 proj ecting latorally from one of the brackets 2. g A spring rod being pivotally connected at 15 to a lever arm 16 which is keyed to a rock shaft 17 Also keyed to rock shaft 17 is an operating arm 18 which is pivotally connected at 19 with one end of a connecting rod 20 which 1s plvoted at its other end on a stud 21 that projects laterally from a reciprocating carriage 22. Referring now to Fig. 1, 1n the present embodiment of our invention, there are two laterally spaced carriages 22 which slide on track bars 23 carried by bracket arms 24 with hubs 25 mounted on a transverse rod 26. Connecting rod 14 transmits a rocking movement to shaft 17 which in turn simultaneously reciprocates the carriages 22. According to the resent embodi ment of our inventlon, eac track bar is grooved longitudinally to form upper and lower guiding flanges 27. Cam blocks, 28 and 29 serve to raise and lower a slide in the manner to be hereinafter referred to. Said cam blocks are provided with spurs or projections 28 and 29 which limit the travel of a cam roller to be presently referred to. On a laterall projecting pin 30 is dpivoted an oscillatab e cam bar 31 provi e depends from a coverplate 38. From an inspection of Fig. 8 it will be seen that the slide 34 is provided with a depending forwardly presented foot 39 .with a suction opening 40 leading into a channel 41, which extends upwardl through the slide 34 and fopens through t e front wall thereof by a lever 48, which is pivoted on a stud 49, which 7 projects from the carriage 22. A stud 50 ,which projects laterally from the slide 34,

also travels in the slot 47 and serves to oscillate the lever arm 48. A roller 51 which is rotatably mounted on the slide 34 travels over the upper surface of cam bar 31, dur-' ing the rearward movement of carriage 22 and over the lower flange. 27 during the forward movement of said carriage, thus serving'to lower and raise the slides 34 and and to impart a relative reciprocatory movement thereto. During this movement, ports 42 and 43 are periodically brought into register with each other, thus openingcommunication between the sucker hole and a pipe 52, which leads to suitable evacuating means included in this pneumatic system. Opening laterally from the channel 41 is an elbow 53 which constitutes a normally open vent into the channel 41 and serves to break the suction in said channel unless the elbow 53 is closed at its outer end by a closure 54 which is oscillatable about a stud 55,

. carried by the slide 35, and provided with a pendulum 56 adapted to be actuated by a sheet to move the closure 54 into vent closing position. he closure thus made is broken by the relative reciprocation of the slides 34 and 35 during the upward movements of said slides which displace the pad or closure 54 from the outer end of elbow 53. Slide 34 carries at its lower end an elongated plate or guard 57 with downwardly deflected extremities '58, 59 and 60 which in lowered position project below the feed bars 61 and hence constitute gages for the front edge of j a sheet which is being operated upon. The

i the rear end of plate-or guard 57 is deflected upwardly to provide a rearwardl flared opening between the plates 57 and eed bars 61. -In the lowered positionof slides 34,

the upwardly deflected .rear ends of the plates 57 project aboveguards or bars 62 which are attached to the carriages 22 and are therefore reciprocated in a path at a fixed distance from the line of feed. During the rearward movement of the carriages 22, the plates 57 and gage 58, 59 and 60 are raised to a position above the guards 62 which provides ample room for the forward edge of a sheet to enter betweenthe feed tapes 63 or feed bars 61 and the plates 62. During the following forward movement, ards 57 are lowered to confine the for war edge so that when said forward edge mamas runs into the pendulum 56 on either side the vent in the elbow is closed and an active suction is created in the opening 40 which immediately efiects apositive grip on the sheet and insures its continuedtravel in a forward direction with its forward edge accuratel gaged. When the upward movements of slides 34 and 35 take place, the sheet is released in the manner already indicated.

We claim:

1. In a machine of the character described, reciprocable sheet-gripping means, means for lowering and raising said sheetgripping 'means, sheet-actuated means for rendering the sheet gripping means active to grip a sheet during its travel in lowered position, and means actuated by the upward movement of saidsheet-gripping means for releasing said sheet.

2. In a machine of the character described, reciprocable sheet-gripping means, means for lowering and raising said sheet gripping means, sheet-actuated means for rendering the sheet gripping means active to grip a sheet during its travel in lowered position and means actuated by the upward movement of said sheet-gripping means for releasing said sheet, said lowering and raising means being adapted to lower the sheet gripping means at the beginning of its forward movement and to raise the same at the end of itsforward movement.

3. In a machine of the character described,

reciprocable sheetgripping 'means, means for lowering and raislng said sheet gripping means, sheet-actuated means for rendering the sheet gripping means active to grip a sheet during its travel in lower position and means actuated by the upward movement of said sheet-gripping means for releasing said sheet, said sheet-actuated means including a ling the operation of said slow-down means.

5. In. a machine "of the character described, sheet feeding means, pneumatically operated sheet gripping means reciprocable to and fro in the line of feed of said sheetfeedmg means, said sheet-gripping means being provided with sheet-actuated means for controlling the operation of said sheet gripp ng means, and means for-raising and 'lowermg said sheet-gripping means.

6. In a machine of the character described, a reciprocable sheet-engaging suction detion device provided with a port opening.

vice normally'open to the atmos here, means for lowering and raising saidevice, sheetactuated means for closing said device and means operated by the upward movement of said device for opening the same to the atmosphere.

7. In a machine of the character described, a pneumatic system including a reciprocable suction device provided with a normally open closure and means for lowering and raising said suction device, said closure being provided with sheet actuated means for moving said closure into position to close said suction device.

8. In a machine of the character described, a pneumatic system including a reciprocable suction device normally open to atmosphere, sheet-actuated means for closing said device to adapt it to grip a sheet, and other means for actuating said closing means for opening said device to release the sheet.

9. In 'a machine of the characterv described, a pneumatic system including a suction device provided with a port opening, a sheet-actuated closure for said port opening, a movable support for said closure and means for moving said support into and out of position to adapt said closure to seal said opening.

10. In a machine of the character described, a pneumatic system including a suction device provided with a port opening, a sheet-actuated closure for said port opening, a movable support for said closure, means for moving said support into and out of position to adapt said closure to seal said openings-and means for lowering and raising said device. v

11. In a machine of the character described, a pneumatic system including a suea sheet-actuated closure for said'port opening, a movable support for said closure, means for moving said support into and out of position to adapt said closure to seal said opening-and means for lowering and raising said device, said movable support being actuated by said lowering and raising means.

12. The combination with sheet conveying tapes, of a reciprocable carriage traveling at a slower rate of speed than said tapes, a pneumatic system including a suction device movable toward and away form the line of feed of said tapes, and sheet actuated means for controlling the degree of exhaustion in said suction device.

13. The combination of a reciprocable carriage, a slide reciprocable on said carriage, said slide being provided with a sheet-gripping sucker, sheet actuated means for adapting the sucker to engage a sheet and means operated by said slide for adapting the sucker to release said sheet.

14. In a machine of the character described, a reciprocable carriage, a slide reciprocably mounted on said carriage, said slide being provided with a sucker opening, an exhaust channel leading therefrom and a vent opening other than said sucker opening, a second slide reciprocable relatively to the first slide and provided with a port movable into and out of register with said exhaust channel in the first mentioned slide, sheet actuated means for closing said vent opening, and means for reciprocating said slides relatively to each other.

15. In a machine of the character described, a carriage reciprocable in the direction of feed, slides reciprocable relatively to each other on said carriage, said slides having portions of an exhaust channel which are successively moved into and out of communication with each other, a vent for 'the portion of said channel in one of the slides and a sheet-actuated'closurc for said vent, the channel portion in one of said slides being provided with a suction inlet adapted to be closed by and to grip a sheet.

16. In a machine ofthe character described, a carriage reciprocable in the direction of feed, slides reciprocable relatively to each other on said carriage, said slides having portions of an exhaust channel which are successively moved into and out of com-' munication with each other, a vent for the portion of said channel in one of the slides and a sheet-actuated. closure for said vent, the channel portion in one of said slides'being provided with a suction inlet adapted to be closed by andto grip a sheet, said sheet-actuated closure being mounted on the slide which does not contain the vent opening closed thereby.

17. In a machine of the character de-,

scribed, sheet-feeding means, sheet slowdown means movable toward the path of movement of a sheet fed by said sheetfeeding means, along said path and adjacent thereto, away from said path, and in a direction opposite to the movement of said sheet, and means operated at the beginning of the forward movement of said slow-down means under the control of said sheet for rendering it active to grip the sheet, the gripping action of said slow-down means being rendered inactive by the movement of said slow-down means adjacent the end of its forward movement.

THOMAS E. BREEN.

ROSS MEREDITH. 

